August 13, 2008

Rock of Ages – Cleft for Me

With death so close I cry my tears
Not with human ear to hear
Before the Throne I pour out my fears
To the hidden God who always appears
And knows down to the deepest part
Man’s secret thoughts and hidden heart

The threat of death’s cold sting, it is a test
To my soul to see if I will rest
In the calm Providence of eternal blessing
Without licking my wounds and donning a dressing
Of worldly pride and self-reliance,
Blasphemy and God defiance

To rightly view the trappings of this world
And esteem the glorification of my Lord
This is what I desire above all things
So that I might honor the King of Kings

These worldly things we count as loss
Compared to the glory of the cross
And gladly lay them down before
The throne of our God once more

Daily sacrificing our sinful desires
And the deceitful lusts that the world aspires
To burn into our souls

So that we won’t be the Lord’s but Satan’s domain
Which Satan continuously tries to claim
To wear down the saints and make them weak
O, to our souls let the Holy Spirit speak!

Yes, the saints are weak,
Perhaps the weakest of all men
Yet our souls will arise
And claim it once again!
The Lord’s strength will show in our weakness
When the situation is the very bleakest
When we have nowhere to run or turn,
We fly to the breast which has been torn
By the whip and lash; We cling to Him unabashed
As by his crucifixion and His words, “It is finished,”
We gather our courage and run the race
Full of faith in the Fatherly face
That meets us at the finish.

Consider the Saints who have gone before
Who are in heaven now cheering us forward
We will soon be among that throng
Joining in their heavenly song

And the ones I loved so dearly here on earth
Who left before me to enter their new birth
I will see again and greet with holy kiss
And know that I will never again miss
Their company as our hearts are raptured
In praise to the One who has captured
Our eternal love and adoration

My fears I now lay down
Under the shadow of my Lord’s cross
They are such a shallow thing
As I consider the depth of suffering
My Lord endured – the cost of my salvation

He was raised from the dead to give me life;
It was a propitiating sacrifice
I look to the Cross to bridge the gap between
What is here now and what is unseen

You drank the dregs of death so that I would not know
The same depth of pain and unutterable sorrow
That comes from the total rejection of the Father
Upon the sin that was mine as I followed
The king of deception and lies

Man’s few days are numbered
You ordained them before time
However many You know are mine
May I live them so that they are Thine